Sunday, March 15, 2009

Field review

#1 SeedsI went with my gut putting Memphis on the top line, thinking Connecticut would be penalized by being in the same conference of two #1 seeds(Louisville and Pittsburgh). Mike Slive and his committee felt differently and rewarded the Huskies with the last #1 seed, which I have no problem with(The Huskies were my top #2 seed). In terms of the overall #1, I had North Carolina even after losing to Florida State, but again I have no qualms about Louisville being the #1 of #1's, especially as I got the regions right.

The Last Teams InArizona was the only team I missed(having Creighton instead). Evidently, the committee overlooked a horrible road and rewarded the Wildcats, who have home and neutral wins over Kansas, Gonzaga, Washington and UCLA. The Bluejays should fault no one but themselves, especially after getting blown out by Illinois State in the Missouri Valley semis. Wisconsin was also a 12 seed, evidently punished by a six-game losing streak.

Big TenWisconsin was one of THREE teams from the conference seeded tenth or below(Michigan and Minnesota were the others). Michigan State received a 2 seed, Illinois and Purdue(despite winning today) are 5 seeds. Ohio State may have an easy 2nd round game vs. Louisville in Dayton(if they can get by Siena, who probably would've gotten an at-large bid if needed).

Most advantageous pod placementsGonzaga and Washington in Portland.Villanova in Philadelphia

Most disadvantageous pod placementsKansas in Minneapolis(Playing North Dakota State in 1st round, possible 2nd round matchup with West Virginia)Louisville in Dayton(Possible 2nd round game with Ohio State)Arizona in Miami and UCLA in Philadelphia(3 time zones away)